Foreign Exchange
by angel-with-a-scythe
Summary: Yaoi. YamatoxTaichi. Yamato is the black sheep in a perfect society, but he keeps the fact that he is bisexual under wraps... however, it gets a little difficult when a foreign exchange student by the name of Taichi steps in to the picture...
1. Chapter 1

Scythe: Yet another story I just randomly pulled from my ass... hm.. de ja vu... have I said that before? Anyways, back into the digimon phase... damn me... -.-;;; but this one I actually put a lot of thought into and I'll probably end up finishing it... so read it. 

Warnings: AU, YAOI (duh), Yamato x Taichi, some fluff, some not so fluff if you get my drift. :D I switched some things around for the purpose of my story, bare with me. :3 you'll like it, I promise.

Exchange

Chapter 1

* * *

"Ishida Yamato, clean your room this _instant_ or I will seriously consider grounding you! I told you to do this _yesterday_ because the exchange student is coming over, so you better get in done in less than ten or I'll take away privileges!" 

Ah, yet another day in the Ishida household.

"Yeah, _OK_, mother. I'm already doing it anyways. And my name is MATT! Sheesh."

Well, he _was_ negligent... He had told his mother just yesterday that he would do it and make sure that the spare bed in his room was all fixed. However, he really had just snuck out the window and went to a concert with his friends instead.

"I cleaned a little bit," he whined to himself, putting his hands on his hips. All he had done was pick up the clothes off the floor... sort of. "Stupid foreign exchange student..." the growing teen mumbled, tossing a shirt violently into the hamper and then picking up some magazines from the floor.

His mother was very involved with the school district and liked to help out whenever they could, but this was the first year she had considered taking in a foreign exchange student, and actually went through with it... and Matt wasn't exactly excited about sharing his room with some strange kid that he didn't even know. His father would never do crap like this, and he liked that, but he hated his father. He didn't really know _why_ he hated his father, he just knew he did, from when he was a small child he could always remember how utterly crushed his mother was about his father, and it had probably spawned from that.

Even if his mother and he didn't get along very well all the time, he still loved her, and he couldn't believe that anyone would want to hurt her like his father had. Unfortunately, that had also made him hate his own name, for his father was Japanese and his mother was American, and thus he used his middle name 'Matt', instead of his first name. From force of habit, his mother still used the traditional Japanese way of saying names, the family name first and then the first name, even now that they had moved to America.

Ah, America... the 'land of opportunity'. More like the land of _hell_ to him. His father had made the family move to America when they were all still together, and then when they split for reasons unknown to him, his mother kept the house and his father moved out, taking his little brother with him. They weren't that far away – in fact, they were within walking distance and he could see his brother at school and everything, so he didn't mind that much.

But he didn't want to think about that right now. He just wanted to get this stupid room done! Well what do you know... it's done.

He blinked at his efficiency and then scratched his head a little... Whatever, that's cool.

As if on cue, his mother opened the door, her mouth open to yell at him, but then she smiled. "Good, honey! Could you help me with some laundry?"

"Do I have to? I was supposed to meet TK at the park five minutes ago..." Matt said, crossing his arms.

"Ugh, whatever, go. Be back in less than two hours. We have to go pick up the exchange student from the airport in about three, got it? Go."

Matt grabbed his jacket and slung it over his shoulder, moving his jean clad legs down the hall in a hurry, sliding down the railing of the entry way stairs after closing the forest green door. He smiled and made his way down the sidewalk, shoving his free hand into his pocket and soon came in sight of the park.

His brother was already there, waiting for him and swinging his legs slowly as he sat on the swing.

"Matt... You're late." TK pouted slightly, making a half-hearted glare in his general direction.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Mom was making me clean my room. We have that exchange student coming, but I could care less." Matt said, leaning against one of the support poles of the swing set.

His brother stared at him, looking him up and down. "Matt... You've changed a lot, you know?" Taken aback from the sudden, off-beat comment, Matt looked to his younger brother in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Well, I mean, the way you dress is different, the way you talk, your attitude towards everything is really just... negative." TK said quietly.

"...Did dad put you up to this TK?" The blonde teen asked, moving away from him slightly. "Are you trying to guilt me into something?"

"What? No, I'm just... I just wanted to tell you what I thought, because you're my brother and all... I just... you really have changed in this last year... I'm a little worried?"

Matt frowned, but ruffled his brother's hair. "Don't worry about me, got it? I can take care of myself..."

"Well what about your girlfriend? She came to me the other day because she hasn't seen you in weeks and she's all emotionally screwed up!" TK blurted, only serving to make Matt raise a brow.

How to tell TK...? So he wasn't exactly straight as an arrow, and he really wanted to tell his brother, but it would just be too awkward... Besides, he didn't want his brother to hate him. He knew how some of the people were around here, and if it got out that he was even remotely gay, his brother would be picked on to no end.

It's not like he was dating men left and right... he just thought the occasional one was... well... sexy? That was normal right? ...Ok so he'd kissed a few guys... and liked it...

"Look, she shouldn't be going to you to get to me. She knows where I live, and I told her that I was breaking it off. Women... geez..." Matt waved it off like it was nothing. Then grabbed his brother from the swing and hooked an arm around his shoulders. "Let's go out to eat or something, I'll treat."

"Alright... if you insist." TK laughed as he looked at his brother's current attire. Tight jeans adorned his legs, and a stylishly tattered shirt with fishnet under it, showing through the holes and rips in his over shirt covered his chest. He couldn't say it looked bad, but it didn't look classy, that was the problem. This town was all about class and style, but Matt was just out of place – there were hardly any people who dared to step outside their houses looking the way Matt did. And it wasn't just the attire, his hair was array of messy blonde spikes, but the thing was... they sat that way naturally, but they only added to his punk, rebel look. No wonder every girl seemed to want a piece of him – he was something _different_ and new.

"Hey are you listening?" Matt asked, giving him a playful punch on the arm.

"Huh? Yeah, of course."

* * *

Matt was late, and he knew he'd never hear the end of this. But this wasn't just any late, this was HOURS late – _plural_. 

To be exact: three.

He knew he was terrible, but he'd saw some cute guy while he was out with his brother and slipped him his cell number. To his delight, he'd gotten a call and he'd met with the guy, not really planning on staying that long, just to see what he was interested in... but Matt had ended up pinning him to a wall and practically fucking him on the spot, but he'd refrained, knowing that it was a big mistake and that he was late...

Geez, just how long had they been making out back there...?

Shit...

The car was in the driveway, which meant his mother had already gone to the airport and back... Oh dear... He was in for it.

Quietly, he crept up the stairs to the front door and opened it slowly, slipping into his house as gentle as a mouse and shutting the door.

CREAK.

Damn, he'd forgotten about that floorboard. Bloody hell.

"Matt?"

He swallowed hard. To anyone who didn't know her, it was an innocent question to see if he was home, but in reality, it dripped venom of what was to come.

"Yeah, mom, I'm home." He said, slowly walking towards the course of her voice.

"Good, come meet the foreign exchange student, he's so cute!"

He? Interesting... but should she really be saying that in front of him? Leave it to his mother to embarrass the crap out of someone she doesn't even know. Sighing, he took a deep breath and stepped into the living room, plastering a smile onto his face to impress and be happy-American-family-like. But when those deep brown eyes turned to gaze upon him, his smile faded, and his jaw nearly dropped.

"This is Yagami Taichi."

* * *

Scythe: Short but promising, no? You should definitely review and tell me what you think. Thanks. 


	2. Chapter 2

Scythe: Chapter 2! Woo hoo! I'm excited about the mostly positive feedback I'm getting.. there are some strange ones out there, but I will refrain from letting my bad side come out and badmouth you for being stupid :3. Just read the warnings, and you'll know what this is about and what it will eventually amount to... geez...

Warnings: AU, Yaoi, Yamato(Matt) x Taichi, Some OOCness may occur, get over it, you'll live, and it makes the story better. Rated M for later chapters.

**BY THE WAY**

(read this)- Look people, the point of Yamato being first in the Blah x Blah is because it is Seme x Uke and it always has been this way -.-;; soooo if you look at the pairing and how it is written, you're supposed to know who is seme and who is uke… ok? Thank you.

_Exchange_

Chapter 2

* * *

"This is Yagami Taichi." 

His mother's voice barely penetrated into his thick skull... Taichi, got it... but all he could really see was that boy in his living room with those spiky brown locks that looked almost dangerous, albeit calmed with a set of silly(yet intriguingly stylish) goggles, and those beautiful eyes that matched his untamed hair. His lithe body was mostly hidden by the baggy shirt and shorts that adorned his skinny hips and arms. That wouldn't be a problem for long, Matt decided, for he was definitely going to take the exchange student shopping, with an ulterior motive, for some clothes that would just make him shine. All Japanese looked good in everything... at least that is what Matt had observed.

"Wow..." was all he could find himself saying, and his mother frowned at him.

"Yamato," she hissed. Taichi looked up at her at this, confused, looking between the two of them. Yamato?

"It's _Matt_," he hissed back, shooting her a short glare, making Taichi look now back to him. He was extremely confused now.

"Darling, I don't think he speaks any English, he never said a word to me while we were on the way home or anything."

Now _that_ could be a big fat problem in his little plan.

"Are you serious? That sucks. How are we supposed to tell what he needs?"

"I don't know, honey. Why don't you go buy a Japanese-to-English book so you can communicate with him better?" His mother had good suggestions...sometimes. He already knew some Japanese from his father and he didn't see why TK might not know some. In fact, TK probably knew more than he did... He'd have to talk to him about that.

"By the way, you got a phone call from Giddean from your band. He said it was important so call him back, alright?"

"Yeah." The blonde said, scratching the back of his head and looking down at Taichi's bags. His band... his mother thought it was silly of him to play in a band and always lectured about how he should be studying more, but if she had just turned on the TV once in while she'd know...

Taichi watched, interested, pursing his lips slightly as if he was hiding a smile, but then he just rocked back on his heels and looked around the neat and comfortable home. There was definitely a bit of a tense vibe between the mother and son, but Taichi could tell it was nothing too serious. It seemed like he would enjoy his stay here, and a lot of his friends were in the same area as he was, even within walking distance, so if he needed to, he could just call them.

Taichi risked a glance over at the blonde 'Matt'. He didn't know why, but there was something that drew Taichi to him, like some unbelievable magnetism. He was, well, attractive and yet so completely different from any American he'd ever imagined or seen.

"Well, why don't you take these bags of Taichi's up to your room and show him the bed he's sleeping in," came the voice of the mother through his thoughts.

Matt looked over at him. "How long is he staying, exactly?"

"Well, since it is a study-abroad program, at least a month."

"You're kidding... Well, come on," he said, turning to Taichi now and nodding his head towards the stairs. Taichi just stared at him. "Um... let's go... up the stairs?" A few blinks were all that he received. "You have to be kidding me... Ok... _walk..._" He made the motions. "...Up the _stairs_." He pointed to the stairs.

The brunette smiled at him and gently grabbed one of his bags, waiting for Matt to lead the way. The American sighed deeply and grabbed the other suitcases, marching up the stairs and moving to the last door down the hall. He opened it, and waved for Taichi to step inside, then brought the bags in and set them in the closet.

"This is where your shit will be kept and this is where _my_ shit is..." Might as well curse while mom couldn't hear and some Japanese kid didn't know any English, right? Besides, the only time he didn't curse was in front of his mother and brother out of respect for his values of family. "And this is your bed." He pointed at the twin size bed about six feet from his own and then to Taichi, several times going between each. "Got it?" This would be so much harder than he had initially thought...

It was getting late, and eventually, his mother made a huge dinner for all of them and Matt gaped. His mother usually made _him_ cook everything, and now, all of sudden; she was being noble and all American-like? What the hell...? Whatever... Food with no cost of manual labor was fine with him. The table was mostly silent as Taichi tried different foods and experimented and pushed things aside while going for more helpings for others. It was rather entertaining to watch, actually, and his face was so cute when it contorted and scrunched up when he found something he disliked.

Still, good things never last in Matt's life, and of course his mother brought up the whole 'being late' ordeal. He explained, leaving out a few details and maybe bending the truth a little, but eventually, she calmed and he felt she no longer wished to impale him upon the fencing outside. It was amazing how easily parents were manipulated when other people were around.

The blonde American looked over the foreign exchange student again, smiling despite himself. He would somehow manage to get this Japanese student distracted from his studies one way or another... maybe he was being narrow-minded? Scratch that, he was just gutter-minded, end of story, but it wasn't like he could help it...

"Well, I'm all done. Looks like Taichi is too... he ate a lot for a skinny little Japanese boy." Matt said, running his tongue along his teeth slowly.

"He is no older than you, Matt, he's 17."

"Well I'm 18, so I can still call him 'boy' if I want."

"Matt, please, don't be so... so rude."

"Whatever, sorry." Matt sighed and picked up his plate along with Taichi's and his mother's and washed them. "Well, I'm going to hit the sack. We had a late dinner tonight and I'd like the end of my weekend to be enjoyed. I'm taking Taichi out tomorrow to go to some clothes shops, is that cool?"

"Sure, just don't bring him back looking like you."

"Oh, very funny." Stretching, the young blonde smiled at Taichi a little and nodded his head towards the stairs again. He watched as the brunette stood and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Ms. Ishida." And he turned and left, up the stairs, leaving two gaping Americans staring after.

"Did you just hear...?"

"Yeah, I did..."

After an awkward moment of silence, Matt walked up the stairs and hung himself in the doorway, staring at Taichi.

"You speak English?"

"Yes."

"What in bloody hell...? Why didn't you say something? And why did you let me make an _ass_ out of myself earlier when I was trying to get you up the god damn stairs?" Matt asked, getting angry with the exchange student. Taichi smiled at him, melting all that anger away in an instant.

"I thought it would be funny... you look like a punk so I wanted to see if you were nice or not," he said blatantly.

"Who does that?" Matt asked skeptically, giving him a sort of pouting glare. "No one, that's who. You're an ass."

"No, you just underestimated me..."

Man, this guy was a _gunslinger_! Ouch. Matt closed the door and sighed, walking to his bed and turning his back to a now undressing Taichi, and he began to do the same, tugging his holy shirt and fishnet off and tossing them into his hamper in the closet. He couldn't help but feel tense. Not too long ago he was thinking about that this beauty would look like without clothes, and now, all of a sudden; he wasn't even trying to grab a peak at the sight just behind him. What the hell was wrong with him? Oh, yeah, courtesy... damn that manner.

"Um... where's the bathroom?" he heard a sheepish voice say, quite close to his ear as he was buttoning his pajama shirt.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that."

"Yeah... that." Taichi repeated, mocking him a little. Man, the _attitude_!

This would be interesting...

"It's the door just to the left on the wall across from my door."

"Thanks."

Taichi disappeared with a toothbrush and some other grooming utensils in hand, and this gave Matt a little time to think on the intriguing foreigner.

Beautiful, yet adorned with the sting of the scorpion was this brunette, but that just made Matt more interested in him. It wouldn't even be a problem to hook him in as long as he worked his charm. Although... his charm had been shot to hell just now...

Well, one couldn't really call that charm... He'd show him eventually.

Smoothing out the wrinkles in his forest green pajama shirt, he peeled the sheets back and sat upon the bed, rubbing the tired from his eyes, or at least attempting to do so. It didn't work too well...

Hell... he was shot.

He ripped the covers over himself and snuggled into his blankets, shivering a little from the sudden chill that ran up his back from the cold sheets. He made sure he had the remote for the light handy, ready for when Taichi came back so he could turn it off.

When the Japanese teen came back, he was yawning and looked as if he could barely keep his eyes open.

"Jet lag..." Matt snickered, gesturing to the bed. "Hurry up." He received no reply, but he felt no need for one, shutting the light off and placing the remote on the stand next to the head of his bed.

A deep sigh left the American and a huge yawn that threatened to break his jaw from its juncture to his skull, but eventually, his eyes could no longer stay opened, and he began to daze off slowly. Just a whisper reached his ears, but he did not hear what it said...

"Goodnight, Yamato."

* * *

Scythe: Ok, so... they're off to a rough start... But, hey, it'll get better, I promise. I'm excited for the next chapter. 


	3. Chapter 3

Scythe: Chapter threeee. Thanks for the wonderful turn out thus far. I might start replying to the reviews and everything so that I can have more contact and communication with all of you. Thanks for reviewing, it's my fuel! (Sorry for the late update. I was really busy).

Warnings: AU, Yaoi, Yamato x Taichi, n all that sort of thing.

Disclaimer: I forgot to put a disclaimer in the first two chapters... Just know Taichi and Yamato are not mine and I'm not getting any profit from this and all that jazz.

Exchange

Chapter 3

The bright light pierced through the thin skin of his eyelids, making him cringe and turn onto his side, sprawling out and clinging to his pillow which had somehow slipped out from under his head. He clutched it softly, taking a deep breath and then exhaling slowly, his eyes fluttering. Such a strange smell... it wasn't familiar, but it was certainly pleasant.

You know, now that he was more awake, the pillow was kind of hard... and there _was_ something under his head that definitely felt like a pillow... His eyes fluttered again and he tugged the object closer, burying his face into what was supposed to be fluffy, soft and, well, pillow-like... but it wasn't so much.

His eyes snapped open and he looked up at what he was holding onto and found a rather attractive, blonde-haired warm body...

Oh dear...

The body shifted and made a soft sound of sleep and that's when he found that he was _also_ being held onto, quite tightly, and Taichi knew that this was a rather dangerous situation. He moved very slowly, despite the fact he was panicking inside, and looked towards the other now empty bed. _His_ bed was empty, so that meant _he_ had slept walked and crawled into the wrong bed.

He should just wrench himself out of his arms and just rush back to his own bed... no, that wouldn't do. Maybe he would just wait and explain the situation... no that would be too embarrassing... besides, this was comfortable, and it just... it felt so good and warm.

A small sound brought him out of thoughts and he closed his eyes, slowing his breathing. Matt would be waking soon, and he would rather not make a big deal out of this little mishap.

"What in...?" Taichi heard, trying desperately to keep his breathing calm. "When did...? Shit... Shit..."

It was hard not to laugh as he heard Matt freaking out a bit, his frantic whispers barely reaching his ears as he tried to slip from Taichi's grasp slowly and carefully. The brown haired boy just had to take advantage of the situation, making a soft sound as if he was waking. Matt went still, but after a few moments he seemed to move even more carefully. However, neither seemed to realize that the sheets were tangled abut their legs and feet, so when Matt tried to move his leg from Taichi's, he wasn't prepared for the resistance and with that he reached down, hovering over the brown haired boy.

The bed was entirely too small for two growing teens in this kind of situation, and Matt's hand slipped from the edge of the bed and sent them tumbling.

"Gah!" both yelped as they fell to the ground together in a heap. Matt panted, lifting himself and shaking his head a little, trying to shake off the initial shock of this mornings events, but what came next definitely didn't help. He was staring directly down into huge pools of gold flecked brown and his breath caught in his throat.

Those cheeks were tinted with red, his hands so pleasantly resting by his head, making for the perfect opportunity to just pin him there and kiss him deeply. No! Don't think like that, Matt... But it was oh so tempting. Their lips seemed to be getting closer and closer with every moment they just stared into each others eyes. Butterflies coursed through Matt's stomach, surprising him greatly, for he never felt nervous about taking advantage of someone... usually.

It _was_ a different kind of situation, but even so, he shouldn't feel like this.

Then the dreaded knock at the door... Matt fumbled quickly to detach himself from Taichi and make the bed more presentable.

"Honey? Is everything alright? I heard a thump from downstairs and I was just making sure."

"Uh, yeah. Everything's fine, I just... dropped something." Matt called, rubbing his temples a bit.

"Well, I just wanted to know what you two wanted for breakfast..."

As the conversation between the door and Matt continued, Taichi was trying to keep his heart from bursting from his chest. Not only had he ended up in Matt's bed, but they'd been _holding_ each other, and Matt had been _on top_ of him... His eyes traveled to the now slightly undone pajama shirt of Matt's and he felt his cheeks heating up again. What in hell was going on...? This was stupid. He would only be here for a month, and feelings for other people would be useless. So Matt was beautiful, and so he'd admired him for so many yea-

"Taichi... what do you want for breakfast?" Matt interrupted. Taichi blinked, looking up at his face.

"Uh... surprise me." He smiled a little.

"Right. Anything Mom, just make what you feel like making. Nothing with peppers though." Matt called to the door, reaching up and scratching his shoulder a little with a sigh.

"Alright."

There was soft thumping that slowly faded and when it was completely gone, Matt turned and started to undo his shirt, facing away from Taichi... for more than one reason. Controlling himself would be really hard if Taichi kept coming to his bed every night... Thinking of that, why _had_ Taichi been in his bed?

"So, do you sleepwalk all the time? You should have warned me... I could put a rail around your bed..." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Ha, ha, ha... no. Sorry, ok? I didn't know either, alright? This is the first time it has happened..." The brunette countered.

"It's no big deal. It just makes things a little awkward..."

"Blatant." Taichi said referring to his statement as he stared at his bed gently dressing himself.

"Sometimes... Anyways, I wanted to take you out today. What do you want to do?" Matt said, changing the subject and shoving his dirty pajamas into his dirty hamper and then grabbing a brush from his nightstand. Gently, he ran the teeth through his hair, making it presentable.

"I don't know..." he said, sighing softly. He wasn't really on that subject mentally yet. He was still thinking about the morning...

Suddenly, a song began to chime about the room and both of them blinked. Taichi turned to look at Matt who was digging through his take-out bag to find his cell phone.

"Yeah?" Matt answered, shoving some deodorant into his bag and then stopping. "Rehearsal?" He looked over at the brunette and swallowed some. "I kind of have someone over... Yeah, I know we're on a schedule but... No, I have a foreign exchange student over and I'm supposed to be taking him out today... No. No... Yeah, I guess. Ok, ok, I got it. Yeah, I'll see what I can do." Click. Matt tossed the phone onto his bed and stared at it for a moment, thinking.

"Do you mind going around with my Mom today...? I know I said I'd take you out, but my uh... band called and said that we're supposed to have a... rehearsal today..."

"Then take me with you," Taichi said, raising a brow to look at him as the blonde pulled a fishnet jacket over his green shirt.

"Pfft, I can't do that."

"And why not?"

"..." Matt blinked and looked at him again. "Fine. Whatever, I'll take you with me. You'll be bored..."

I don't think so, thought Taichi, smiling.

The breakfast table atmosphere was not as stale as the night before, which pleased all of them and made for good conversation. Both of the Americans learned a little more about Japan and Taichi as a person, and Matt's mother was so pleased she squeezed her son tightly in a warm embrace and ruffled his hair sweetly.

"I love you darling!"

"Ugh, what? Yeah, sure..." and when Taichi was out of earshot, "What is wrong with you? You're acting all... motherly."

"Don't sass me, young man."

"Mother! I am eighteen in only a few months, stop treating me like a kid..." Matt growled, rubbing the back of his head some.

"I know... but that's why I treat you like this... because I will never get to again..."

Deathly, depressing silence came over the room and Matt's eyes were wide with disbelief...

"Mom..." was all he could say as he stared at her, and then gently hugged her close. "I love you too..." He whispered, then ruffled her hair back. "There's always TK. He comes over a lot and you can still baby him."

She just gave him a skeptical look, "So what are you doing with Taichi today?"

"Oh, I'm going to take him around town and stuff and we're probably going to go shopping." Matt shrugged, shoving his fish-netted hands into blue jean pockets.

"Oh, how much money do you need? I think I have some cash on me..."

"None," he answered quickly, averting his eyes to the door, "I don't need any money, I have enough."

"...Matt where are you getting all this money? You never need a single bill anymore and the other month you came home with a new car... Now, you told me that you're friend had given it to you because he had gotten a new one, but I'm really starting to doubt that."

"Mom, I don't want to talk about this, ok?" He made a move for the stairs.

"Yamato, you stay where you are and you talk to me right now. Where are you getting all this money, and why are you hiding it from me?"

The straw that broke his back...

"Look, why don't you turn on the fucking TV once in a while, then maybe you'd know where in hell I get all my fucking money and see what the fuck your son has really become, and for the last time, my name is MATT." He yelled, panting by the end of his sentence, and yet appalled that he had lost his temper and cursed at his mother. Without another word, he stormed from his living room and grabbed Taichi, his keys and his wallet and stormed off down the driveway to his car.

His mother was left in pure shock, nearly fainting from all that had happened. Yet steadily... she picked up the remote.

They drove in silence, Matt not saying a word, nor answering any questions that Taichi asked, but the ice melted as they neared a tall building at the edge of town, the blonde slowly coming to a stop in front of it. He turned off his engine and pulled his yellow lens sunglasses from his face.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that..." Matt said softly, staring straight ahead and swallowing hard. He wasn't used to apologizing to people, but he wanted Taichi to be comfortable with him. "My mom and I usually don't fight that badly, but... she's just so ignorant and has been ever since we moved to this stupid town and when dad divorced her..." He chuckled humorlessly. "Some American family we are... or perhaps we're the epitome of one." He looked over at him and flashed the Japanese boy a dashing smile. "Let's forget about that and go have some fun, hmm?"

He grabbed his keys and opened his door, Taichi following suit and the blonde locked his car up. For a moment, he stared at it, and the Japanese foreign exchange student pulled him out of his trance, gently tugging on his sleeve.

"Oh, right, let's go." He said quickly, feeling stupid.

"No... I have a question," the brown-eyed beauty said softly. Matt stopped, tilting his head.

"Sure. Shoot."

"Why don't you use your real name..?" Taichi inquired, his voice low, and barely over a whisper.

He earned a very surprised look, but it was gone as soon as it had come.

"My father is Japanese and named me Yamato, but my father crushed my mother with his greed and selfish nature. He changed her, Taichi. Though I love my mother greatly, she is not who she used to be. I hate my father, you will never understand how much."

"Yamato..."

"Don't call me that." Matt shot, turning his head almost violently away from him.

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want to call you." Taichi sassed, putting his hands on his hips.

"You are much more trouble than you are worth," the blonde hissed, turning away from him and stepping to the building, a triumphant brunette in step behind him.

Only a step in the door, Matt was frantically greeted by a man who whispered something to him and then whisked him away, dragging Taichi with them once Matt explained. They were practically shoved into a room where cameras and lighting and backgrounds were set up all over.

"Jeans, fishnet, sleeveless turtle neck and yellow shades? Thank god for your sense of style, Ishida, now get in there." A man said who was holding a camera and pointed to the make up room. "I want him made up in less than five, you get me? We don't pay you big bucks to take up time, now move it!" He snapped.

The brunette, caught up in amazement, hardly noticed Matt being swept away. This was a photography studio! It was awesome in itself just to be in the home of a gorgeous male he'd admired for years (what are the odds, hmm?) and now he was in his photo studio? Too cool... And look at the size of this place! You could easily fit a few elephants in this place.

"Who the hell is this kid? Who let him in? Get him out. He's a distraction." Came that same, director-like voice.

"_I_ let him in because he is _my_ friend. Deal with it, Curtis, honestly." Matt said, emerging from the make-up room.

"Whatever. Just keep him out of the way." The photographer said, trying to be civil.

Matt threw his gaze over to Taichi who, in turn, flashed him a smile that made Matt ache with need for him, but he subdued his own devious thoughts by directing his attention to his photographer... The older man stared at him expectantly.

"Are you ready, or what?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Alright," said Curtis, gesturing. "This time we want the theme to be romantic, you got me? Ok, so..."

Romance? Those always turn out well, thought Taichi, moving to stand behind the director as so he wouldn't cause distraction for him. He sat gently upon the bench against the wall and rested his chin upon the palm of his hand and waited, watching as Matt was lectured.

"...alright? So, first pose, alright, I want you to turn to the side but face me, and I want you to look as if you've just fallen in love at first sight."

The look that came upon Matt's face made Taichi's eyes widen. Those blonde eyebrows furrowed delicately upward in slight, stunned surprise and those eyes just shone with affection and anticipation. The brunette felt his chest tighten and he had to swallow hard to refrain from making a sound of shock... It almost seemed like Matt was looking at him, but it was just a fan boy's fantasy... he _was_ sitting behind the camera, after all. However, he couldn't help but smile, so that, even if Matt was looking at him, he could still see his approval for the picture.

It went on like this for an hour and a half or so, but Taichi never got bored. It was fascinating and enticing to see what sort of poses Matt and the photographer and staff could come up with. And they certainly came up with some beautiful works of art.

"Very nice. Alright, take five and we'll finish this up." The photographer said, waving them off and then off to do business of his own.

Disappointingly, Matt did not return to him, but instead went to retrieve water and new clothes. There was idle chatter and gentle laughter and the like amongst friends, but things seemed to get steadily more hectic as all of a sudden the photographer stormed back in, someone frantically following.

"Are you _kidding_ me! We have booked this for THREE months, Jacob, and now you're telling me he can't come? We paid for him already?"

"Actually, we haven't... He wouldn't take the money, sir... Please, calm down..."

Curtis fumed and whirled on him. "Calm down? The last half of our shoot is fucked because of that twit!"

"But it won't do any good to yell and bitch about it, will it?" came Matt's fluid, calm voice.

"That is easy for you to say. Do you have any idea how much another day will cost?" he spat.

"Wait, sir... maybe it doesn't have to cost anything..." The assistant said, his eyes glued on Taichi.

Bad news... Taichi sat up in shock and then looked around, desperately hoping that there was someone else they could be looking at...

Scythe: I'm terribly sorry that this took so long... School is extremely stressful right now. Thanks for waiting! Review please. :3


	4. Chapter 4

Scythe: Ok let me explain something for those of you who don't read closely/use your imaginations. Taichi knows Matt but **we don't know** how yet, its called FORESHADOWING. You learn that in English class in like 7th grade... Just stick through it, and if it ends and things still don't make sense, then my bad.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own them but I'm not making any profit, blah blah, all rights reserved for those people, blah blah.

Warnings: YAOI. If you don't know the couple by now, you should be shot.

Thank you's: To all my reviewers for telling me what they think. I'm glad you all like it. (However I think there was one person who was like: "bah this sucks"... on the _first chapter_... how first grade is that?) It's amazing how many of you really read this shit. Nice... I appreciate it.

**ALSO:**

Sorry about the seemingly random transitions... the bars weren't working and I was just like: "fuck it" after ten minutes of trying and re-trying... lol

P.s. Sorry this took so long... Work and Spring break and memorizing lines.. x.x

o-o

Exchange

Chapter 4

o-o

Taichi sat up in shock and then looked around, desperately hoping that there was someone else they could be looking at...

Matt gaped and looked from the assistant, to the photographer and to Taichi in astonishment.

"Are you suggesting I put him in the shots?" the photographer asked, but it wasn't a harsh tone... which scared Taichi even more. "You know, I think he should be in the shots instead... He's got beautiful skin, he's exotic and fresh, and he fits well with Matt. I'm a genius..."

The assistant looked at the photographer, offended, but he was used to this by now and just rolled his eyes. "Indeed. Let's get this done wi-"

"Wait just a moment," Taichi interjected. "This... I mean I have never... don't you think you're making a mistake? I'm not cut out for this kind of work."

"Relax kid," Curtis assured. "You'll be a natural; just pretend the camera isn't there. Get him in make up and costume. You better make it fast, got it? We're already behind schedule."

Taichi, being pushed away into the make up/dressing room, managed a single glance at an amused blonde who just smirked at him.

...Payback for attitude?

...Probably...

They didn't have to wait long. True to their words, the make-up team was immediate and effectively decisive. When the Japanese exchange student was pushed from the room, everyone's jaws hit the floor in amazement.

As sexy as he was before, Matt was sure his nose would bleed at any second now. The younger teen had on the most interesting and opposite attire of that he had come in with. He looked professional in his green dress jacket and khaki pants, though scandalously undone was the shirt and jacket, showing just enough bare chest to make anyone want to see more. Even the photographer was left speechless for a good while, making Taichi a little uncomfortable, but once everyone gathered their wits, all hell ensued... at Least for Taichi, anyway.

The shoot was a blur for him, and he didn't even have time to think before he was swept away and didn't even notice when Matt wasn't in the shots anymore. Matt, however, was not objecting or jealous at all; simply fascinated by the brown haired Japanese boy before him striking the sexiest poses and the cutest little grins that he'd ever seen in his life.

"I'm thinking he could be our theme for our music billboards you know? Tranquility; something that grips them and intrigues them," Matt said into the photographer's ear, practically brainwashing him with subliminal messages.

"Yeah huh," he agreed completely.

Several costume changes and poses later, it was finally time to wrap it up. Curtis definitely went over his schedule, but ironically he didn't care much. He was always like this once he found new talent.

"Well," Matt said to Taichi, hooking an arm around his shoulders. "Looks like you are going to be a star. What a story to go home and tell, hmm?"

Taichi looked and him skeptically and said, "Won't it? I still can't believe it happened... it doesn't seem real."

"Come on, loosen up. Time for..."

"And you lied to me, you know." Taichi said, interjecting and crossing his arms as they left the building."

"What? When?"

"I thought you said we were going to a rehearsal..."

Matt scratched the back of his head a little. "Yeah, so did I... Apparently the band pictures are on a separate day and this was, technically, for a magazine and my buddies just didn't bother telling me. They know I hate photo shoots."

"You seemed fine in there."

"Only because you were there," he laughed, ruffling the brown hair. "Gotta be suave."

"Ha, ha, very funny. Buy me some Americanized clothes and show me the corporate world."

Matt had to laugh. "Sure thing." He grabbed his keys from his pocket and swung them around his finger as they exited together.

A pair of dark eyes narrowed as they watched the couple go and thin lips pursed to an even thinner line as jealousy seemed to drip over usually calm personage. Stepping from behind the wall, the youth stared after, arms crossed and glaring. That kid...

"Hey, what are you doing in here?"

The youth looked up to see a security man staring at him disapprovingly. He instantly plastered a helpless smile on his face. "Sorry, I'm looking for Studio B? I was supposed to do a photo shoot with Ishida today, but I'm really late and I came to apologize to Curtis."

The youth was escorted to the studio in which Matt and Taichi had just left, Curtis setting up for the next shoot just as he walked in. When the photographer spotted him, a look of death came to the older man's face as he stomped over to him.

"You! Do you know how you jeopardized the photo shoot? Do you know how much money we could have lost because of you!" he shouted, waving his arms and gesturing towards the shoot.

_Could_ have lost? What the hell did that mean? The youth wondered, narrowing his eyes just slightly in thought, but he quickly put on his best face.

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry Curtis!"

"Don't give me that bullshit act. I know your god damn tantrums you throw just to piss someone off. The question is: what did Ishida do to you, huh? Or maybe you're trying to get back at me for something? Well it didn't work because we found someone better. Consider finding a new studio to work in." Leaving the young model speechless, Curtis turned to his employees. "Don't mess that up, Alex. You pay for it if you do, damn it. Security, please escort this young man outside, please. Thank you."

"But..." The youth's eyes widened in pure shock. Found someone _better_? How was that even possible?

He didn't have time to think as he was rushed from the studio and out the building. Ishida's car was gone, not that he expected anything different, but he couldn't help wonder who could have replaced him...? Surely there were no other models in the building... and that stupid boy that Matt was with didn't even _compare_... Did he?

Just as he was to dismiss the thought, a few of the stage crew members emerged from the double doors and laughed and chatted idly.

The youth slapped on his best face again and smiled at them, vaguely remembering them from some shoot or another.

"...yeah, and the look on his face when Curtis decided to use him in the shoot? Priceless!" One said.

"No joke," replied the other, smiling. "but wow, did you see how he turned out? Amazing. To think that diamonds in the rough really exist out there still. Absolutely amazing."

"Hey," said the youth, waving. "You boys going home?"

They stopped and smiled and waved back. "Yeah, it's been a long day."

"Really? Has Curtis been yelling again?" He asked, laughing in jest.

"Well he was, but that was because some model didn't show today."

The youth narrowed his eyes just slightly, but regained himself and acted surprised. He pried for information in such a delicate way. "No way! He should have called me."

"Yeah, but we found someone so fantastically photogenic, it was insane!" said the first man.

"Wow. How'd he find someone on such short notice?" He asked innocently, prying again.

"You wouldn't believe this, but Matt Ishida came with some friend of his or something," said the first eagerly.

"No, no. It's his foreign exchange student," the other corrected. "But, hey, I think I've seen you around before..."

As the world seemed to be crashing down on him, the youth barely caught he statement and hastily replied, "of course you have. Curtis and I go way back. I was his first model to go pretty big, you know?" He said, his ego pouring forth in a fit of jealousy and rage.

But the two stage crew didn't seem to catch the hostility. "Oh yeah! Cebre, right?"

"That is correct." He forced himself to smile cutely. "But hey, it was so nice talking to you, but I have to go in and do a shoot. I'm so late already.

"Oh no problem. See you around!" And they left together and Cebre made like he ws entering the building, but steered himself around once they were out of sight and made for his car.

That stupid _kid_ was better than him?

"You ruined _everything_," the youth mumbled angrily taking his keys from his pocket and thrusting them into his car door. He wrenched open the piece of metal and sat inside the comfy seats, only to shove the key into the ignition and start the car almost violently.

Finally, he was able to calm himself with the soft purr and hum of his car. He took a deep breath and then looked at the rearview mirror, pulling it down so that he could see himself.

His deep raven hair spiked and flopped in all directions in a stylish, sexy way, and his softly sunken cheeks made for the perfect face and complexion. His eyes were a soft blue that were just irresistible and the more he looked at himself, the more he was convinced that that stupid brown haired brat could never be as great as he.

"Well... I'll just have to take my time with this one..." he said to himself, then readjusted his mirror and sped off into the distance.

o-o

By the time Matt and Taichi were finished shopping, it was getting late and both agreed that they were way too hungry for their own good. Taichi, being who he was, usually didn't want anything in particular, but this time, he had a great idea.

"Hey, Yamato?"

"Hm?"

"I had a thought..."

"Did you?" Matt intercepted, snickering at him. "Hope it didn't hurt too much."

"...Refrain," Taichi said, glaring. Matt just laughed. "_anyways_, I'm thinking take out... With a twist."

"Yeah, I'm listening."

"Let's go get some traditional Americanized Chinese food and sit on the highest, grassiest hill you have that looks over the city." He made sure and gave him the prettiest puppy dog eyes he could manage, but he didn't even get a fight.

"That sounds awesome! Let's go." He grabbed Taichi and made for the car, shoving shopping bags into the trunk.

This was his chance to be alone with the brown haired pretty boy so that he could finally move in for the kill! Well... not the kill, he noted to himself. However, a kill would be nice...

All he had to do tonight was determine whether or not the Japanese teen could possibly be attracted to him, and once he found that out, all he had to do was advance with his suave words and delicate teases and he'd have the kid hooked and wrapped around his finger... and _then_ he'd go for the kill... on a later date...

It was all a blur: ordering the food, grabbing a blanket, driving to the perfect hilltop and setting the mood, but once they got to the top, it was as if Time itself had stopped for them. As they were digging through the take out boxes with chopsticks and hungry mouths, Matt suddenly got a sickening thought in his mind.

He really, really liked Taichi but... Taichi would have to leave eventually. With this in mind, he slowly put his take out back into the bag and then looked at the Japanese boy who sat beside him.

Gods he's beautiful... Matt thought. He instinctively wanted to touch him, grab him, kiss him, but he had a great deal of willpower... sort of.

"Tai..." Matt said softly, making the exchange student turn to face him questioningly.

Tiachi could read the look on Matt's face quite easily for once, and it gave him a massive whirl of rabid butterflies in his stomach. He found he could no longer swallow, captivated by the look on Matt's face.

"Yeah...?" He asked slowly, licking his messy lips. That look of distress and lust mixed together worried him...

"When are you leaving?" The words were forced so painfully from his lips.

"Not for another month..."

Yeah, but most of that month would be spent away from him studying, Matt reflected, sighing softly. "Well, that sucks. I kind of like your stupid attitude and your air of innocence."

Well that was blatant, Taichi thought, but somehow, it also filled him with satisfaction and an urge to show that he liked him back... No, maybe he was misreading things... There would be absolutely no way that things between them would become mutual. He was just some fan, and Matt was this super rock star that was taking the world by storm! It was amazing that he was even living in his house with him at this time.

Gods, he wanted to tell him. He wanted to tell him how he'd been saved by his music; how things were so terrible for him in Japan that he had wanted to commit suicide; how he'd held that knife against his wrist, closed his eyes and was ready to slice, but his music came on and the emotion he'd felt through his voice and his words was so intense, he stopped himself. But how could he tell him that? He would think he was lying or something. At the time, he didn't really understand much of what was being said in the song, but he could tell it was uplifting, and it had inspired him to work even harder in his English class... but that was so long ago, it seemed. Now, Matt's band was extremely popular, all over the world, and he was just a blip on the radar of success for him...

"Yamato..." He said gently. He wanted to tell him... he wanted to so badly.

"Yeah...?"

Well it was now or never... it was the perfect time, and he didn't want to waste it.

"I..." he started quickly, "know who you are!" Gah! No, wrong. That came out terribly, horribly wrong. He cursed himself mentally as Matt got a strange look on his face of confusion. "I mean... I know that you're famous and stuff..."

"What do you mean?" He was thoroughly confused now. Taichi knew who he was? But he lived in Japan!

"I've liked your band for a really long time. Um..." He was a bit nervous, here, and he was wringing his shirt in his hands shyly as he tried to explain. "Well," He sighed deeply and took a deep breath. "Let me just start from the beginning. It was by accident I found your music online. You were still a semi-small band trying to make it big then, but I didn't really know who you were. One of your song titles is the same as another of the bands that I listen to, so I thought it was the same song, but when I listened to it, naturally I was a little freaked out at first because it was in English... but I started listening to the emotion in your voice... and I couldn't help but wonder who you were and why you were so amazing... Your voice was so awesome and..." He trailed off a little. Somehow, they'd gotten awfully close and Matt's eyes were half lidded with amazement as Taichi's mesmerized state. And he was close, gods, so close that they were almost kissing. "And..." he tried to keep going, but those lips so close to his were making him lose his train of thought.

Their lips met and Taichi sighed a deep sigh of pleasure, melting into the kiss, forgetting all that he was saying as a gentle hand came and softly caressed his cheek. All else seemed to dissipate away from them.

Matt gently pulled the Japanese teen closer to him, hooking an arm around his waist and keeping their lips locked with intense passion. It felt so good, so.. so _right_. He didn't want this moment to end, he didn't want Taichi to leave ever. He just wanted this right here, right now, and surprisingly, he didn't want sex, like he thought he did, he just wanted to make Taichi feel good with this single kiss.

When they parted, Taichi was panting softly, his heart was racing and his fingers pulsed with the need to touch Matt's skin. "Yamato..." He said softly, swallowing hard, his gaze clouded with satisfaction and gratitude.

Gently, Matt knocked their foreheads together and gently cupped his face. "I'm so glad you told me... It's unbelievable but so incredibly awesome," he whispered, gently rubbing his thumb along his cheek.

Taichi was speechless. He knew not what to say, only that he loved this, that he loved Matt... that he wanted to be with him always.

"I don't want you to leave," the blonde rock star interjected, barely above a whisper.

"I don't want to leave either," Taichi said, almost frantically, lifting his hand to gently grab Matt's arm, his eyes closed as if he didn't trust his eyes to not give away the sorrow he felt in that moment...

o-o

Scythe: So... yeah that took a while to get out, but it wasn't because of writers block, it was just because of crap going on in my life. Thanks for waiting. Hope you enjoy it.


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